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NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


AND 


T  IT  K I  R    <  >  H I  O  I 


A    PAPER    HEAD    AT    A    REGULAR    MEETING    OF     THE 
WORCESTER    SOCIETY  OF    ANTIQUITY, 

JUNE    5th,    1877. 


BY     SAMUEL     E.    STAPLES 

A   MFJVIIU.R  OF  Tin:  SUCIKTV 


WORCESTER,  MASS.  : 
PRINTKII  IJY  TYLER  &  SEAG HAVE.  442  MAIN  STREET. 

1 S77. 


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" 


NORMAL  SCHOOLS 


AND 


THEIR    ORIOIN 


A    PAPER    HEAD    AT    A    REGULAR    MEETING    OF    THE 
WORCESTER    SOCIETY  OF    ANTIQUITY, 

JUNE    5th,    1877. 


P>Y    SAMUEL    E.    STAPLES, 

A  MEMBER  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 


WORCESTER,  MASS.: 
PRINTED  BY  TYLER  &  SEAGRAVE,  442  MAIN  STREET. 

1877. 


A/0  '/' 


Copies  fainted  for  S^r  irate  fLi*t'iibntio/f. 


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NORMAL  SCHOOLS  AND  THEIR  ORIGIN. 


In  the  preface  to  a  little  volume  entitled 
"Lectures  on  School-keeping,"  by  Samuel  R. 
Hall,  first  published  in  the  year  1829,  I  find 
these  significant  words.  'There  is  a  very  gen- 
eral belief  that  one  of  the  most  common  detects 
in  our  common  schools  is  the  improper  charac- 
ter and  superficial  qualifications  of  teachers.  It 
is  well  known  that  many  who  are  employed  to 
teach  our  primary  schools  are  deficient  iu  al- 
most every  necessary  qualification.  While  this 
defect  is  so  prominent,  all  the  efforts  to  increase 
the  usefulness  of  schools  can  be  attended  with 
only  partial  success.  But  let  the  character  of 
teachers  be  improved,  and  improvement  in  the 
schools  will  follow  of  course.  To  accomplish 
this  object  it  is  desirable  that  institutions  should 
be  established  for  educating  teachers,  where 
they  should  be  taught,  not  only  the  necessary 
branches  of  literature,  but  be  made  acquainted 
with  the  science  of  teaching  and  the  mode  of 
governing  a  school  with  success.  The  general 
management  of  a  school  should  be  a  subject  of 
much  fctudy  before  one  engages  in  the  employ- 
ment of  teaching.  However  important  such  in- 
stitutions are  to  the  success  of  common  schools, 
as  yet  very  few  of  them  exist."  Normal  schools, 
institutions  for  the  sole  and  special  purpose 
of  training  teachers,  had  however,  long 
been  established  in  Europe.  "The  word  Nor- 
mal is  derived  from  a  Latin  word,  which  signi- 
fies a  rule,  standard,  or  law.  Schools  of  this 
character  were  called  normal  schools  on  their 
establishment  in  France,  either  because  they 
were  designed  to  serve  in  themselves  as  the 
model  or  rule  by  which  other  schools  should  be 
organized  and  instructed,  or  because  their  ob- 


M207680 


ject  was  to  teach  the  rules  and  methods  of  in- 
structing and  governing  a  school." 

The  first  school  of  this  class,  with  a  distinct 
plan  for  the  preparation  of  primary  school 
teachers,  was  established  at  Stettin,  abcut 
eighty  miles  north  of  Berlin,  in  1735.  Another 
was  established  at  Berlin  in  1748,  by  Frederick 
II.,  commonly  called  the  Great;  one  at  Halle, 
1757,  and  the  first  in  France  in  1810.  In  Hol- 
land the  first  normal  school  was  established  in 
Haarlem  in  1816,  through  the  influence  of  M. 
Van  der  Ende,  who  is  esteemed  the  father  of 
education  there,  to  supply  a  deficiency  which 
was  felt  for  the  proper  training  of  teachers. 
Previous  to  1820  normal  schools  were  estab- 
lished in  many  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  and 
were  found  to  be  of  great  practical  use  in  the 
thorough  preparation  of  teachers  for  their  im- 
portant work.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  there  were  in  Germany  alone  about 
thirty  teachers'  seminaries  in  operation. 

But,  to  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Hall  belongs  the 
credit  of  being  the  father  of  normal  schools  in 
America,  the  first  to  establish  on  this  continent 
a  school  for  the  special  training  and  prepara- 
tion ot  teachers.  Schools  of  this  kind  were  ad- 
vocated as  early  as  1816  by  Professor  Denisou 
Olmstead  while  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  in  an 
addiess  delivered  on  the  state  of  education  in 
Connecticut,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  show 
that  the  great  defect  in  our  school  education 
WHS  the  ignorance  and  incompeteuc>  of  the 
teachers,  and  the  only  remedy  was  a  seminary 
for  their  special  instruction  and  training  for  the 
work  of  their  profession.  Other  gentlemen 
deeply  interested  in  the  cause  of  popular  educa- 
tion, had  from  time  to  time  before  the  establish- 
ment of  our  state  normal  schools  in  1838  made 
similar  suggestions,  and  Professor  Ticknor  in 
the  North  American  Review  for  1827  advocated 
the  same. 

The  Teachers'  Seminary  of  Mr.  Hall,  which 
he  established  at  Concord,  Vermont,  was  open- 
ed in  March,  1823,  and  was  incorporated  by  the 
legislature  of  the  state.  This  institution  was  the 


first  normal  school  of  America,  and  was  co  n- 
tinued  by  the  founder  for  seven  years,  when  he 
was  called  to  take  charge  of  the  Teachers' 
Seminary  at  Andovor,  which  was  opened  in 
September,  1830,  and  the  coarse  of  study  in  the 
normal  department  was  arranged  for  three 
years.  Mr.  Hall  says  in  a  letter  some  years 
since,  "The  demand  for  teachers  was  so  great 
that  it  was  found  difficult  to  retain  young  men 
during  the  full  course.  A  few,  however,  com- 
pleted it,  and  are  devoted  to  teaching  as  a  pro- 
fession." He  continued  ac  Phillips  Academy 
for  seven  years  till  impaired  health  and  the  un- 
favorable influence  of  the  climate  led  him  to  re- 
sign the  charge  of  the  seminary,  and  accept  an 
appointment  of  principal  of  the  Teachers'  Semi- 
nary then  being  established  at  Plymouth,  N. 
H.,  which  was  continued  but  thyee  years,  owing 
to  the  pecuniary  embarrassment  of  the  trustees. 

In  writing  of  the  school  at  Concord,  Mr.  Hall 
says,  "it  was  more  successful  than  I  had  any 
reason  to  expect;  and  those  who  went  out  from 
it  as  common  school  teachers  were  go  generally 
successful  that  their  services  were  greatly  sought 
for  m  Vermout,  .New  Hampshire,  and  Canada." 
It  was  while  Mr.  Hall  was  principal  of  the 
school  at  Concord, that  the  volume  of  "Familiar 
Lectures  on  School  keepin0"  was  prepared, 
f  bis  work  met  with  unexpected  success,  and  an 
edition  of  ten  thousand  copies  was  circulated  by 
the  state  in  the  schools  of  New  York.  It  did 
much  in  producing  a  batter  system  of  teaching. 

At  the  sessioa  of  iue  American  Iu»titute  of 
lustructiou,  held  in  Boston,  Aug.  29,  1836,  one 
topic  of  discussion  was,  "Tue  Piofessiouai  edu- 
cation of  Teacuers;"  and  as  a  result  of  this  dis- 
cussion, it  was 

"Ordered,  that  tue  board  of  directors  be  in- 
structed to  memorialize  the  legislature  ou  the 
subject  of  estaolisliiag  a  seiniuery  for  the  edu- 
cation of  teachers." 

As  will  be  noticed,  tnis  action  was  not  taken 
till  thirteen  years  after  the  establishment  of  tlie 
normal  school  at  Concord,  Vermont",  by  Mr . 
Hall.  The  memorial  was  drawn  by  George  B. 
Emerson,  and  signed  by  himself,  Samuel  R. 


Hall,  Win.  J.  Adams,  D.  Kiinball,  E.  A.  An- 
drews, Benjamin  Greenleaf,  and  N.  Cleaveland, 
constituting  a  committee  appointed  for  the  pur 
pose,  and  was  presented  to  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature.  There  was  a  petition  presented 
also,  from  a  convention  of  delegates  from  towns 
in  Plymouth  and  Norfolk  counties.held  Jan.  24, 
1837,  in  aid  of  the  memorial  of  the  Institute. 

Upon  the  suggestion  of  Edward  Everett,  in 
his  annual  address  to  the  legislature,  January, 
1837,  the  board  of  education  was  established 
during  that  year.  The  movement  which  had 
been  strongly  urged,  for  the  establishment  of 
state  normal  schools,  or  seminaries  for  teachers, 
was  not  successful  at  that  time. 

The  board  of  education  organized  on  the  29th 
of  June,  183^  The  necessity  then  existing  for 
better  teachers  for  our  somuiou  schools  was 
evident  to  the  board,  and  in  us  tirst  report 
urged  the  importance  of  establishing  institu- 
tions for  their  special  training. 

March  22d,  1838,  a  resolve  was  introduced 
into  the  house  of  representatives  appropriating 
$10,000  to  tue  board  of  education,  whicii,  with 
$10, 000  more  troui  a  private  source,  contributed 
by  Hon.  Edmund  Dwignt  oi  Boston,  was  to  be 
disoursed,  under  the  direction  or  the  ojo,i'd,in 
qualifying  teachers  for  the  common  schools  of 
Alassacbusetts.  This  resolve  was  approved  by 
Governor  Everett  on  the  19th  of  April  follow- 
ing 

As  a  resale  of  tuese  eJiorts  for  tue  oetter 
qualification  of  teacu«rs,  turee  schools  tor  tueir 
preparation  were  establisned, — jue  a.t  Lexing- 
ton, afterward  removed  to  West  Newton,  and 
thence  to  Framiugham,  where  it  now  remains; 
one  at  Barre,  removed  to  Westtield  in  1844;  and 
the  other  opened  at  Bridge  water,  September 
9th,  1840.  ''funs  was  established  upon  a  sure 
foundation  tne  normal  school  systeai  of  Massa- 
chusetts." At  that  time  many  persons  opposed 
the  innovation,  for  such  it  was  considered  by 
some,  but  today  none  can  be  found  to  oppose  it 
who  have  at  heart  the  importance  of  a  good 
common  school  education  lor  our  children.  The 
seed  sown  by  Mr.  Hall  and  others,  to  whom 


0 


due  credit  should  be  given,  is  spriuging  up,  in 
fact  has  already  produced  an  abundant  harvest. 

Besides  those  persons  already  named,  who 
were  conscious  of  the  need  existing  of  better 
qualified  teachers,  and  who  publicly  advocated 
the  same,  should  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  Thos. 
H.  Gallaudett  of  Harttord  and  Mr.  Wm.  Russell 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.  Mr.  Russell  afterwards 
moved  to  Boston,  and  was  editor  of  the  Jour- 
nal of  Education. 

About  the  same  time,  1825,  Mr.  James  G. 
Carter  of  Lancaster,  in  a  series  of  letters  pub- 
lished in  a  Boston  paper,  called  public  attention 
to  the  necessity  and  advantages  of  an  institu- 
tion devoted  exclusively  to  the  professional 
training  of  teachers.  In  the  same  year,  Walter 
R.  Johnson,  then  residing  in  Germautown, 
Penn.,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  views  of 
Mr.  Gallaudett  or  Mr.  Carter,  in  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  "Observations  on  the  Improvement  of 
Seminaries  of  Learning,"  set  forth  the  neces- 
sity and  advantages  of  schools  for  the  special 
training  of  teachers. 

While  this  matter  was  being  discussed  in 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  importance  of  the  subject  presented  to 
the  people  in  these  and  other  states,  Mr.  Hall 
was  quietly  pursuing  his  work  at  Concord,  Vt., 
that  state  being  i  n  advance  of  every  other  in 
giving  legal  sanction  to  schools  for  the  special 
training  of  teachers,  though  the  school  of  Mr. 
Hall  was  not  a  state  institution. 

Perhaps  no  person  labored  uiot-e  persistently 
and  with  greater  devotion  Co  the  work  of  estab- 
lishing state  normal  scnools  in  Massachusetts 
than  Mr.  Carter,  and  to  him,  and  to  Horace 
Mann,  the  first  secretary  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, belong  largely  the  credit  of  establishing 
these  institutions  for  the  preparation  of  teachers 
in  this  state.  Their  efforts  were  made  all  the 
more  successful  b>  the  inauificeut  contributions 
to  the  cause  by  the  late  E  Lnaud  Dvvighc  before 
mentioned,  and  in  aid  of  the  schools  some 
years  later  by  the  contribution  fro.n  the  estate 
of  Henry  Todd,  Esq.  of  Bost-m  of  the  sum  ot 
$10,797.72.  Such  noble  benefactions  evincing 


most  surely  their  appreciation  of  the  efforts 
inide  for  the  establishment  aud  the  usefulness 
of  these  institutions.  But  normal  schools  to- 
day are  no  longer  an  experiment.  The  first 
three  established  settled  the  question  beyond  all 
dispute  of  the  wisdom  of  those  men  who  labor- 
ed long  and  hard  to  bring  about  such  results. 
As  the  importance  aud  usefulness  of  these  be- 
came manifest,  aud  conld  no  longer  afford  ac- 
commodations for  all  who  desired  their  advan- 
tages, the  demand  for  other  schools  of  this  kind 
in  other  portions  of  the  state  became  impera- 
tive. The  first  school  was  opened  at  Lexington 
July  3,  1839,  starting  with  only  three  pupils,  aud 
at  the  close  of  the  term  it  numbered  but  twelve. 
Today  there  are  in  this  state,  including  the 
normal  art  school,  which  was  established  in 
Boston  in  1873,  six  schools,  with  a  total  number 
of  pupils  amounting  in  all  departments  to  more 
than  1200.  The  normal  school  located  in 
this  city,  and  opened  tor  pupils  Septem- 
ber 15,  1874,  under  the  charge  of  Professor 
'  E.  H.  Russell,  was  the  fifth  in  tne  order  of  es- 
tablishment, that  at  Salem  being  the  fourth,  and 
was  opened  Sept.  13,  1854. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  give 
a  history  ot  these  institutions,  but  to 
state  only  in  a  general  way  their  great 
usefulness  in  preparing  teachers  for  their  re- 
sponsible positions  in  life.  Neither  do  I  intend 
to  reflect  unfavorably  upon  those  teachers  who 
have  not  had  the  advantages  of  the  training  of 
these  preparatory  schools.  Not  all  who  gradu- 
ate from  normal  schools  make  good  teachers, 
and  not  all  who  have  not  graduated  from 
these  institutions  are  poor  teach  rs.  Some  of 
our  best  teachers  have  not  been  in  the  normal 
schools.  But  these  remarks  are  somewhat  of  a 
digression.  I  desired  more  especially  to  speak 
of  the  originators  of  the  normal  school  system 
here,  and  to  do  justice  to  all  those  noble  men, 
who  labored  so  long  and  so  hard  to  secure  the 
establishment  of  these  schools  in  our  own  coun- 
try. Especially  would  I  do  justice  to  the  leader 
ot  them  all,  the  Rev.  Samuel  R.  Hall,  who  was 
many  years  iu  advance  of  all  others  in  making 


8 


a  normal  school  a  reality  and  not  a  mere  theory 
here.  He  should  ever  be  held  in  remembrance 
as  the  first  man  on  this  continent  to  establish  a 
school  for  the  sole  and  only  purpose  of  prepar- 
ing teachers  to  teach.  As  has  been  shown,  the 
same  ideas  had  been  entertained  by  others,  but 
to  Mr.  Hall  belongs  the  credit  of  first  putting 
these  ideas  into  practice. 

If  he  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow 
where  only  one  grew  before,  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  benefactor  of  his  race,  how  much  more  shall 
he  be  esteemed  who  devises  the  way  and  car- 
ries into  practice  any  plan  that  shall  improve 
the  character  and  enlarge  the  intellect  of  his  fel- 
lowmen. 

Having  said  what  I  have  in  regard  to 
normal  schools  and  their  origin,  I  will  now 
bring  these  remarks  to  a  close  by  adding  a  brief 
biographical  notice  of  the  founder  of  normal 
schools  in  America.  "Samuel  Read  Hall  was 
born  at  Croyaon,  N.  H.,  Oct.  27,  1795.  He 
commenced  teaching  in  Rumford,  Me.,  in  1814, 
and  in  1822  taught  an  academy  at  Fitchburg, 
Mass.,  being  also  licensed  as  a  Congregational 
preacher.  He  removed  to  Concord,  Vermont, 
in  1823,  where,  [as  before  stated,]  he  organized 
the  first  school  in  the  United  States  for  the 
training  of  teachers.  He  was  chosen  principal 
of  the  normal  department  of  Phillip  Academy  in 
1830,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years.  In 
1829  he  aided  in  founding  tue  American  Insti- 
tute of  Instruction.  In  1837  he  removed  to  Ply- 
mouth, N.  H.,  where  he  kept  a  teacaers'  sem- 
inary till  1840,  when  he  removed  to  Crafts  bury, 
Vermont,  and  established  there  a  teachers'  de- 
partment in  connection  with  the  academy,  where 
he  taught  till  1846.  He  is  the  author  of  a  num- 
ber of  educational  works."  Mr.  Hall  is  now 
living  in  Brownington,  Vermont,  where  he  has 
resided  for  a  number  of  years  past. 

In  concluding,  I  will  state,  that  many  of  the 
facts  contained  in  this  paper  I  have  obtained 
from  another  upon  the  same  subject,  written  by 
Rev.  A.  H.  Quint,  D.  D.,  in  1861,  while  a  mem. 
ber  of  the  board  jf  education,  and  also  a  vol- 
ume on  "Normal  Schools,  etc.,"  by  Henry  Bar- 
nard, Esq.,  superintendent  of  common  schools 
in  Connecticut,  published  in  1851. 


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